Here is one of Barry Hands engraving when he had first received his PalmControl.
Flexible gravers and flicking
There is an old method before pneumatic tools to flick using flexible or springy graver shanks. This was at a time before high speed steel, cobalt and carbide was used or even invented. At that time gravers were made from carbon steel such as is used in band saw blades. It wasn't unusual for engravers to make their gravers from worn out carbon steel saw blades. The graver shank was thinned so that it would flex like a spring. To flick with this the engraver would come to the end of the cut, stop, point the graver steeper and load the graver shank up so that it was flexing and ready to spring. Now when the point was picked up, the graver shank would make an audible 'ting' as the loaded up spring shank snapped the chip out. This method used to be used for small English scroll with non power gravers. The engraver Simon Lytton from England who is well known for his English scroll engraved this way without power, however he now is using a PalmControl™ with carbalt gravers. Engravers could get a way with this using carbon steel graver points because they are less hard and brittle than modern day graver steels. If this technique is used with carbide or carbalt the point would break off in no time. I am not an advocate for thin shanked gravers because they do not work well with pneumatic tools. The shank will flex and vibrate from the fast pneumatic impacts and we loose impact power efficiency. Thick shanked gravers that are ridged will cut much cleaner and easier with a pneumatic tool. Here is info about this and thinning gravers shanks
http://www.engravingschool.com/priva...%20gravers.htm